Trust & Transparency
Affiliate Disclosure
How Home Essentials Lab earns revenue, how affiliate links work, and why compensation never determines our product rankings or recommendations.
How We Earn Revenue
Home Essentials Lab is an independently operated product testing and research publication. We earn revenue primarily through affiliate commissions — when you click a product link on our site and make a qualifying purchase, we may receive a small commission from the retailer at no extra cost to you.
We participate in the following affiliate programs:
- Amazon Associates Program — As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases made through our product links.
- CJ Affiliate, ShareASale, and Impact — We participate in additional retailer and brand affiliate networks to provide varied purchase options for recommended products.
- Other retail affiliate programs — We may partner with additional retailers from time to time to provide the most relevant purchase options for our readers.
The key principle: Affiliate compensation supports our operations but does not determine which products we recommend, how we rank them, or what scores they receive. Editorial decisions are made independently of all revenue considerations.
How Affiliate Links Work
When we link to a product on Amazon or another retailer, that link contains a tracking identifier. If you click the link and complete a purchase within the attribution window (typically 24 hours for Amazon), we receive a small percentage of the sale.
This costs you nothing extra. The price you pay is identical whether you use our link or navigate to the product directly. Clicking our link does not increase the price of any product.
What This Means for Our Reviews
Our editorial process is designed to keep recommendations independent from compensation:
- We purchase all test products at retail — we do not accept free samples, press units, or sponsored placements.
- Rankings are based on documented evaluation criteria including performance, durability, ease of use, and value — never on commission rate.
- Products that earn higher commissions do not receive preferential placement or inflated scores.
- We recommend products from retailers where we have no affiliate relationship when those products are the best option for our readers.
Our commitment: If a product fails our testing protocol, it does not receive a recommendation — regardless of its commission rate or retail availability.
How We Identify Affiliate Links
Links to retailers on our site are affiliate links unless otherwise noted. We aim to be transparent about this relationship throughout our content. If you have questions about whether a specific link is an affiliate link, please contact us and we will clarify.
FTC Compliance
This disclosure is provided in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s guidelines on endorsements and testimonials (16 CFR Part 255). We believe in full transparency about our revenue model and its relationship to our editorial content. The existence of affiliate relationships is clearly disclosed on all relevant pages.
Supporting Independent Testing
Affiliate revenue is what makes independent product testing possible. Purchasing through our links helps fund our testing operations, including retail product purchases, testing equipment, and the time required for extended real-home evaluations.
If you find our recommendations helpful, using our links is the best way to support our work at no cost to you. That said, we never want affiliate considerations to influence your purchasing decisions. Buy what’s right for your household, regardless of where you buy it.
Questions?
If you have any questions about our affiliate relationships, revenue model, or editorial independence, reach out through our contact page . We’re happy to explain any aspect of how we operate.